ANTHRO 31Q: The Big Shift (CSRE 30Q)
Is the middle class shrinking? How do people who live at the extremes of American society- the super rich, the working poor and those who live on the margins, imagine and experience "the good life"? How do we understand phenomena such as gang cultures, addiction and the realignment of white consciousness? This class uses the methods and modes of ethnographic study in an examination of American culture. Ethnographic materials range from an examination of the new American wealth boom of the last 20 years (Richistan by Robert Frank) to the extreme and deadlynworld of the invisible underclass of homeless addicts on the streets of San Francisco (Righteous Dopefiend by Phillipe Bourgois and Jeff Schonberg). The experiences of Hispanic immigrants and the struggle to escape gang life in Los Angeles are highlighted in the story of Homeboy Industries a job creation program initiated by a priest working in LA's most deadly neighborhoods (G-Dog and the Homeboys by Celeste Fremon). Finally in Searching for Whitopia: an improbable journeyninto the heart of White America, Rich Benjamin explores the creation on ethnic enclaves (whitopias) as fear over immigration and the shrinking white majority redefine race consciousnessnin the 21st century. Each of these narratives provides a window into the various ways in which Americans approach the subjects of wealth and the good life, poverty and the underclass, and thenconstruction of class, race, and gender in American society. Students will not be required to have any previous knowledge, just curiosity and an open mind.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci
Instructors:
Wilcox, M. (PI)
ANTHRO 32: Theories in Race and Ethnicity: A Comparative Perspective (CSRE 32)
This undergraduate course employs an anthropological and historical perspective to introduce students to ideas and concepts of race and ethnicity that emerged primarily in Europe and the United States in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and that continue to shape contemporary racial attitudes, interactions, and inequalities. Ideas about race and ethnicity forged outside the U.S. and case studies from other nations are presented to broaden students' understanding and to overcome the limitations of an exclusive focus on the U.S. This course is geared to sophomores and juniors who have already taken at least one course on race and ethnicity, anthropology, African American Studies, Asian American Studies, Chicana/o Studies, Jewish Studies or Native American Studies.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci
ANTHRO 34: Animals and Us (ARCHLGY 34)
The human-animal relationship is dynamic, all encompassing and durable. Without exception, all socio-cultural groups have evidenced complex interactions with the animals around them, both domesticated and wild. However, the individual circumstances of these interactions are hugely complicated, and involve much more than direct human-animal contact, going far beyond this to incorporate social, ecological and spiritual contexts.n This course delves into this complexity, covering the gamut of social roles played by animals, as well as the methods and approaches to studying these, both traditional and scientific. While the notion of `animals as social actors is well acknowledged, their use as proxies for human autecology (the relationship between a species and its environment) is also increasingly recognized as a viable mechanism for understanding our cultural and economic past. It will piece together the breadth of human-animal relationships using a wide geographic range of case studies.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI
Instructors:
Seetah, K. (PI)
;
Gupta, S. (TA)
ANTHRO 39: Sense of Place
This course examines the life of places as shaped by environmental events and projects aimed towards rural or urban development. Drawing methodological insights from anthropology, cultural geography and environmental studies, we examine the forces that generate place problems for humans and nonhumans. Each encounter with place and displacement sets up a particular issue for us to grapple with: How would we address issues created by natural disasters, the seizure of land through legal means that fall under eminent domain or gentrification projects? Through a critical dialogue with interdisciplinary fields that inform the readings, the seminar aims to bring theoretical and methodological insights to inform our practical suggestions for how to address placeness and displaceness at different scales.
Last offered: Autumn 2019
ANTHRO 41: Genes and Identity (AFRICAAM 41, CSRE 41A)
In recent decades genes have increasingly become endowed with the cultural power to explain many aspects of human life: physical traits, diseases, behaviors, ancestral histories, and identity. In this course we will explore a deepening societal intrigue with genetic accounts of personal identity and political meaning. Students will engage with varied interdisciplinary sources that range from legal cases to scientific articles, medical ethics guidelines, films, and anthropological works (ethnographies). We will explore several case studies where the use of DNA markers (as proof of heritage, disease risk, or legal standing) has spawned cultural movements that are biosocial in nature. Throughout we will look at how new social movements are organized around gene-based definitions of personhood, health, and legal truth. Several examples include political analyses of citizenship and belonging. On this count we will discuss issues of African ancestry testing as evidence in slavery reparations cases, revisit debates on whether Black Freedman should be allowed into the Cherokee and Seminole Nations, and hear arguments on whether people with genetic links to Jewish groups should have a right of return to Israel. We will also examine the ways genetic knowledge may shape different health politics at the individual and societal level. On this count we will do close readings of how personal genomics testing companies operate, we will investigate how health disparities funding as well as orphan disease research take on new valences when re-framed in genetic terms, and we will see how new articulations of global health priorities are emerging through genetic research in places like Africa. Finally we will explore social implications of forensic uses of DNA. Here we will examine civil liberties concerns about genetic familial searching in forensic databases that disproportionately target specific minority groups as criminal suspects, and inquire into the use of DNA to generate digital mugshots of suspects that re-introduce genetic concepts of race.
Last offered: Spring 2019
| UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
ANTHRO 42: Megacities (ARTHIST 242B, LIFE 142, URBANST 142)
This class will examine a variety of ways that the city has been represented and understood in anthropology, architecture, literature, film, and journalism in order to better understand how everyday life and experience has been read in conjunction with urban forms. Issues covered will include the co-constitution of space and identities; consumption, spectacle, and economic disparity; transportation and health; colonialism and post-colonialism. Assignments will include writing and drawing projects based on close observation and reading.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
Instructors:
Jain, S. (PI)
ANTHRO 60N: Digging for Answers: 5 Big Questions of Our Time (ARCHLGY 60N)
The aim in this course is to explore the archaeological evidence for long-term change with regard to 5 major questions of our time: Where do we come from? Has inequality increased? Have we become more violent? Why do we have so much stuff? What is the relationship between humans and climate change? You will be introduced to recent publications for class debate, and will also be introduced to the ways in which archaeologists use evidence in order to explore the 5 themes. We will go to Stanford¿s archaeological collections so that you can have hands-on experience of artifacts and will be able to problem solve using data from the instructor¿s own excavations. We will also visit labs (archaeological and genomic for example), local museums and local archaeological excavations.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
Instructors:
Hodder, I. (PI)
ANTHRO 78A: Disruption and Diffusion: The Archaeology of Innovation (ARCHLGY 78)
This undergraduate seminar uses engagement with canonical archaeological topics and questions about the emergence of civilization to introduce students to critical perspectives on the nature of novelty, progress, and modernity. The first weeks of the course will be spent learning about archaeological hypotheses and debates on early human innovation (e.g. urban development, agriculture). Later weeks will focus on developing a robust theoretical framework through which to better understand and interrogate claims about the origin of innovation.
Last offered: Autumn 2018
ANTHRO 80A: Heritage and Human Rights (ARCHLGY 80)
What does archaeology have to say about human rights? Is there a right to cultural heritage? How can archaeology and heritage help protect rights¿or encroach upon them? Themes we will address in this course include the archaeological investigation of human rights topics; the right to heritage; conflicts of different rights regimes in heritage contexts; and ethical considerations about rights during research and heritage management. These questions will take us to cases as diverse as forensic investigation of the disappeared in Argentina, the archaeology of homelessness in the U.K., the destruction of heritage as cultural genocide in Bosnia and the Middle East, and the rights of indigenous groups in Australia and the U.S. to control cultural heritage.
Last offered: Spring 2019
| UG Reqs: WAY-ER
ANTHRO 82: Medical Anthropology (ANTHRO 282, HUMBIO 176A)
Emphasis is on how health, illness, and healing are understood, experienced, and constructed in social, cultural, and historical contexts. Topics: biopower and body politics, gender and reproductive technologies, illness experiences, medical diversity and social suffering, and the interface between medicine and science.
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-SI, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-EDP
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